Deputy CM Manish Sisodia seeks L-G presence at IAS meet

New Delhi: Even as IAS officers in Delhi on Monday annou-nced that they are ready for a formal meeting with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy CM Manish Sisodia demanded the presence of L-G Anil Baijal at the meet, saying that an assurance of bureaucrats’ “services” and “security” can only be fulfilled by the L-G.

Earlier on Monday, officers of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) had expressed their willingness to hold a formal meeting with Mr Kejriwal to help bring an end to the bitter week-long feud between the two.

“Officers of GNCTD welcome Honourable CM’s appeal. We reiterate that we continue to be at work with full dedication and vigour. We look forward to concrete interventions for our security & dignity. We are open to formal discussions with Honourable CM on this matter,” tweeted IAS AGMUT (Arunac-hal Pradesh, Goa, Mizor-am, UTs) Association.

Welcoming the offer by bureaucrats, Mr Sisodia said, “That’s precisely why we have been sitting at Raj Niwas for so many days requesting the L-G to call all stakeholders and end this impasse.”

However, the deputy chief minister also demanded the presence of Mr Baijal at the meeting.

Happy for discussions with our officers. Delhi government committed to providing them safe and secure environment. However, LG is head of both “services” and “security”. So, the meeting should take place in his presence so that assurances related to those subjects could be given,” he tweeted. Later, Mr Sisodia also wrote a letter to Mr Baijal asking him to invite all the sides and help bring an end to the impasse.

“Requesting Honourable LG of Delhi to call a meeting of elected government and IAS officers to resolve the issue as soon as possible, “he tweeted. The officers’ offer of the talk came a day after Mr Kejriwal’s appeal urging the bureaucrats to return to work.

The CM has been staging a dharna at LG’s residence for over a week alleging that IAS officers in Delhi have been on strike for the last four months. The officers have dismissed Mr Kejriwal’s allegations as baseless, insisting that they were never on strike.

“The officers are a part of my family,” Mr Kejriwal wrote as he urged the officers to return to work and start attending the meeting of ministers. On Sunday, the week-long feud between Delhi government and bureaucrats showed signs of thawing after Mr Kejriwal issued an appeal to the officers’ via his Twitter account.

Seeking to allay the fears of Delhi bureaucrats, Mr Kejriwal urged the former to get back to work shortly after the officers accused the AAP-led government of “victimizing” and “targeting” them.

The chief minister’s assurance came following Delhi’s IAS association allegations that they are being “targeted” and “victimised”. The officers in a press conference had said that they feel threatened in the prevailing atmosphere.

In his message, the chief minister wrote: “I wish to assure them that I will ensure their safety and security with all powers and resourced available at my command.”